What To Expect As NY Airports Rebound After Sandy

New York's airports are slowly (emphasis on slowly) coming back to life as the cleanup after Hurricane Sandy goes on. But anyone who plans to travel to or from the New York area over the next few days and even weeks had better pack some patience, because there's still a lot the airlines can't control.

The impact on the system has been brutal. More than 19,500 flights across the country have been canceled since Sunday, according to Flight Aware, and more cancellations are likely in coming days.

JFK International Airport and Newark International Airport both were open Wednesday, but for very limited service. LaGuardia Airport is aiming to re-open by mid-day Thursday, although for now, that's just a goal.

To be sure if your flight is operating, contact your airline before you go to the airport. Remember that heading out to an airport post-Sandy will not be as simple as before the storm, and it may not be as comfortable at the airport once you get there, given New York's infrastructure issues.

On Tuesday night, JetBlue Airways, which is based at New York's JFK International Airport, laid out its plans to employees in a video for getting back into gear. Rather than attempt to resume its full schedule, Jet Blue is phasing things in the next few days. Here's how it will go:

On Wednesday, JetBlue plans to operate 50-51 flights to JFK (that means into JFK, not flights from the airport to elsewhere). Some of those flights will only be to get get crew members and airplanes back to New York, after Jet Blue dispersed them around the country to keep them safe from the hurricane.

On Thursday, JetBlue expects to operate about 50 percent of its usual schedule. Because New York's LaGuardia Airport isn't back yet, Jet Blue said it might move some of its flights from there to JFK.

On Friday, JetBlue expects to operate about 75 percent of the schedule, getting back to 100 percent by Saturday.

Of course, those are just estimates. One big question mark for the east coast is when LaGuardia will re-open. On Tuesday night, JetBlue told employees that officials were still pumping water off the property. Twitter has featured some remarkable photos of the flooding that show water essentially covering the tarmac all the way up to the airport jetways.

Many airlines, including Delta, are still allowing passengers to the New York airports to change their travel plans at no charge. On Wednesday, Delta said those who planned to fly through Saturday to Newark International, LaGuardia and JFK could rebook tickets through Nov. 9. It also is offering waivers for flights through Friday from a number of other airports.

One of the biggest problems for airlines operating out of New York is getting people to work. With subways flooded, and bus routes limited, some carriers, like JetBlue, are making arrangements to bus their employees from different locations.

But until New York City gets its transportation system up and running, the logistics of getting crew members to the airports, and planes into the air, will be affected.